46 U.S.C. § 70033: Limitation on application to foreign vessels

Except pursuant to international treaty, convention, or agreement, to which the United States is a party, subchapters I through III and this subchapter shall not apply to any foreign vessel that is not destined for, or departing from, a port or place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and that is in—(1) innocent passage through the territorial sea of the United States; or (2) transit through the navigable waters of the United States that form a part of an international strait.